Dr. Cate Morales is a licensed psychologist and she offers daytime and evening appointments, both online and in-person at our Rockville/N. Bethesda office. She is authorized to provide telehealth services in MD, DC, VA and over 40 other states.
Dr. Morales earned her PhD doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from Hofstra University (APA-accredited). She completed her pre-doctoral internship training at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Virginia Treatment Center for Children within the Children’s Hospital of Richmond. Postdoctoral training was completed at VCU’s outpatient eating disorder clinic within the Translational Research on Eating and Affect (TREAT) Lab. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Macaulay Honors College at Baruch College, City University of New York, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and was honored as valedictorian.
Dr. Morales is experienced providing evidence-based treatments in a variety of settings for children, adolescents, and their families (e.g., outpatient, intensive outpatient, inpatient, pediatric hospital specialty clinics). She completed advanced training in multiple evidence-based psychotherapies through Northwell Health, the Mount Sinai Health System, and Virginia Commonwealth University: Exposure and Response Prevention for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT), Family-Based Treatment for eating disorders, Family Systems Therapy, Mirror Exposure Therapy, and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).
Dr. Morales practices primarily from a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) orientation and also incorporates additional evidence-based treatments such as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for trauma, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) approaches. She blends flexibility and cultural humility to tailor individualized treatment plans to each person’s unique experiences and needs, fostering a collaborative and goal-oriented stance to create a nonjudgmental therapeutic environment.
Currently, Dr. Morales is a full-time licensed psychologist at The Snow Psychology Group. She provides individual therapy to children, tweens, teens, and young adults experiencing depression, anxiety, OCD and Related Disorders such as Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs such as hair pulling, nail biting, skin picking), body image issues and eating disorders including Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), trauma, ADHD, autism, tics, and selective mutism. She also provides family therapy for children, adolescents, and their caregivers to strengthen communication, improve relationships, and reduce conflict at home. Using a family systems and DBT-informed approach, she helps families support treatment for OCD and anxiety as well as build practical skills for emotion regulation and healthy family interactions.
Dr. Morales has published extensive research on clinical treatment for eating disorders, including manuscripts and book chapters. Her dissertation research focused on food insecurity and eating disorders in university students. Research positions include a visiting research fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a visiting scholar at the Cohen Children’s Eating Disorders Center at Northwell Health Zucker Hillside Hospital in NY. She has conducted international research on improving access to eating disorder treatment and care, which she has presented at various academic conferences and community settings. She has received numerous academic honors and awards.
Professional affiliations include the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), and the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF).
In her free time, Dr. Morales enjoys cycling, live music, photography, and spending time with her family and pets.
